


Stellar

by smallblip



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Food Issues, Gallirei if you squint, Other, Pop - Freeform, all the stuff associated with idolverse, brief mentions of sex, diets, media and homophobia, they're all idols, uh... that's it really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29842509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallblip/pseuds/smallblip
Summary: It’s a dog eat dog industry, with the promise of sweat-proof eyeliner, copious amounts of hard boiled eggs, and a shot at fame/infamy. Levi is stellar and Hanji wonders where she fits in. Also known as “fanfiction would call this unresolved tension”.
Relationships: Levi Ackerman & Hange Zoë, Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë
Comments: 26
Kudos: 74





	Stellar

**Author's Note:**

> This was entirely inspired by an ask I got from an anon on tumblr (https://smallblip.tumblr.com/post/644741664111575040/omg-omg-levi-being-in-a-famous-k-pop-group).
> 
> Thank you anon, this was a blast! 💖

[+768] Levi Ackerman is dating?? WHAT! No! 

[+154] The stars of their label! Dating! How apt! 

[+378] waittttt! The pictures are so blurry! Nothing is confirmed yet! We need more details! 

[+288] they have got to be the hottest couple of the year~~~

“Levi! Levi!” Mike shouts over to Levi who’s dosing off in the other end of the park waiting room, “come look at this!” 

Levi sighs and trudges over. His eyes widen in horror when he reads what’s on Mike’s screen- 

**[BREAKING] Levi Ackerman from The Scouts dating soloist Petra Ral? Pair were spotted together outside company building.**

What the fuck. 

⇝

“You know one day someone’s going to see you walking around my apartment butt naked...” Levi rolls over on his stomach. He’s fighting the urge to go to sleep. He has practice later, but that's still a few hours away. Maybe there is time for a little nap after all. 

“And who exactly is gonna see?” Hanji says, leaning against the counter, mug of coffee in her hand. 

Levi points at the living room curtains, left open in their haste to get to the bedroom. 

“Oh fuck!” Hanji crouches down, crawling towards the curtains and drawing them shut. 

Levi laughs, much to her annoyance. Hanji pouts. If anyone so much as chances upon this sight, she can kiss her career goodbye. The thought alone makes her shudder. She dashes to the bedroom although she really doesn’t have to, and she lands on the bed with an ungraceful oof. 

“Why they call you a goddess I’ll never know...” Levi shakes his head. 

“I _am_ a goddess...” Hanji smirks, fingers trailing down Levi’s spine, she gives his butt a little slap before resting her hand on his rump, “in bed...” she winks. She’s laughing again, stopping abruptly when she realises something, “wait... Who called me a goddess?” She perks up, eyes wide, head tilting to one side. Levi thinks she’s absolutely adorable. Maybe he is sleepier than he thought because he feels like he’s in a daze. 

“Your fans... Some of them...” he says,

“So you do watch me Levi... I knew it!” Hanji chuckles, lying on her back. She stretches her arms out in front of her. A nap sounds wonderful right about now. 

“ _You_ watch me...” Levi retorts. 

“I do! The difference between us Levi?” Hanji jabs her thumb to her chest, “I’m not afraid to admit it.” 

Levi rolls his eyes. But this is a good enough segue so he takes it. “So... You must know about the thing...” he starts. 

“What?” Hanji chuckles, tilting her head to look at him. He’s lying beside her now, so close that his breath skims her face. He smells like peppermint. “Your burgeoning relationship with Petra Ral?”

More pictures have emerged over the weekend. What began as a chance meeting in front of their company building and them exchanging a few words soon grew into a scandal, all because of a few photographs uploaded on social media. People see what they want to see. 

“The situation has presented itself as an opportunity...” the CEO of their company had said in an emergency meeting with Levi and Petra, “I’m not asking you to get married. Just hang out, let them take some pictures, give the people what they want...” 

“It’s good for publicity,” his manager had added, “the prince and princess of the industry... Dating! That would land you two on the headlines for months!” 

Levi had been thoroughly against it. But Petra was willing to give it a shot. There’s only so much he can do to protest. 

“You didn’t have to tell me all that...” Hanji says, her voice soft and gentle, like duvet days and warm oatmeal in bed. 

“You don’t want to know?” Levi asks. 

Hanji shrugs, “we agreed remember... Saves the heartache...” 

“Yeah yeah...” Levi strokes her arm absentmindedly, “the whole friends with benefits arrangement...” 

She slaps his hand away, kneeling on the bed in mock annoyance. The duvet drapes around her shoulders, forming a tent around Levi. _Get down you idiot, you’re letting the cold air in_ , Levi wants to say. But he bites his tongue in anticipation of the next stupid thing to come out of Hanji’s mouth. 

“ _Best_ friends with benefits,” she narrows her eyes, “the next time you forget that, there will be no more benefits...” 

“Fine... Best friends... Whatever...” Levi sighs, pulling Hanji atop him, she crumples atop his chest, hair splaying across his neck. When they open their eyes again, it’s going to be an endless assault- schedules, practice, events, shoots, more practice. 

But for now it’s so quiet that Levi can hear the air whistling through his vents. He pushes Hanji’s hair from her face. 

There’s still time for a nap. 

  
⇝

  
“So... How are you handling the whole Petra debacle?” Erwin asks from the front seat.

“It’s just a publicity stunt... There’s no debacle.” Levi says. 

“Still... Hypothetically... Something can evolve from this...” Mike says, nudging into Levi’s side. There’s really no need to. It’s so cramped in the backseat of their company’s SUV that they’re practically fused into one, “look at Reiner and Porco!” 

“Hey!” Reiner says from his other side. Why the boy has gotten so big Levi doesn’t know. But that means he takes up more than his allocated space in the backseat. Now Levi is sandwiched between two giants and he doesn’t appreciate it. “You know they’re just rumours! Porco fucking hates my guts and I still don’t know why...” 

True enough, it's like a Wild West standoff every time they meet. 

“Ah... Fanfiction would say that’s unresolved sexual tension...” Erwin chuckles. 

“Don’t be disgusting Erwin...” Levi scoffs. 

“I heard Hanji’s gonna be at the party...” Reiner tries to shift the attention away from himself. But he’s also genuinely curious about the pair. They are, for the lack of a better word, odd. And ever since moving out from their dorm, chances to needle Levi into a confession have grown slimmer. 

“So?” Levi retorts. His defensiveness makes Reiner feel small, he shifts in his seat. 

“Um... Isn’t she like... You know...” Reiner stutters, “aren’t you two... _A thing_?“ 

Immediately, Levi regrets standing up for Reiner. Kindness begets nothing in this industry. Least of all from the colleagues he calls his friends. Shame he’s stuck with these idiots for as long as their contract binds their souls to the label. 

“There is no thing...” 

Levi hears his own voice playing in his head when he arrives at the party and the sight of Hanji in a suit makes him stop in his tracks. 

“Want me to pick that up for you?” Reiner asks.

“Huh?” 

“Your jaw... It’s on the fucking floor...” Reiner’s booming laughter mingles with the chatter in the room, and Levi snaps his mouth shut.

So maybe there is a little thing. A thing the press has labelled a friendship because it’s very much assumed that nobody can deal with Levi Ackerman, star of the industry, potentially dating Hanji Zoë- someone who has shared a love-hate relationship with netizens since the start of her career. So a friendship it is- a convenient little title that keeps Levi’s fans from tearing Hanji a new one.

The Corps had a rocky start with Hanji’s past relationships leaked by a scorned ex on the Internet a year or two into their debut- her relationship with boys and well, with girls, pushing the group to notoriety. 

Until- 

**_Levi Ackerman, face of The Scouts, potentially the best dancer of his generation, came out as bisexual in a shock announcement that took the industry by storm._ **

Levi Ackerman- star boy, the darling of the industry. And all of a sudden, Hanji was untouchable too.

Hanji doesn't know what to think about the media calling her a 'pathfinder', but she figures anything is better than 'deviant'. 

“I owe you one...” Hanji had said to him.

“You owe me a couple... Starting with a new toaster... How the fuck did you set it on fire?” 

Hanji had tried making breakfast for them in the morning. And that was the start of their little trysts. It has been five years and Levi still can’t get over how Hanji looks in a suit, her hair slicked back, silver-rimmed glasses perched beautifully on her nose. 

“Hey!” She waves him over, and he takes efficient strides towards her, eager to reach her before her arms fall off from waving so hard. 

“How have you been?” He asks, as if they don’t text every other day. But still, it’s been a while. Their schedules haven’t been permitting. It’s cruel, but they’re used to it. 

“Good... Busy... You?” She smiles. And Levi thinks it’s worth it coming to this party. Even though he had to put up with them pulling at his hair, them putting makeup on his face, them putting him in these pants. 

“I’m in leather pants two sizes too small... I’ve been better...” Levi returns her smile and she laughs. 

“The world hasn’t had its fill of bad boys yet?” She quirks a brow. 

“Apparently not...” 

“Thankfully so... Or Levi Ackerman would be put out of business...” Hanji teases. 

“There you are! I was looking all over for you! They want to take our picture! Now we gotta find Nifa...” Nanaba circles her fingers around Hanji’s wrists, tugging her to where the reporters are. “See you around Levi!” Nanaba says.

His mind lingers on the way Hanji says “I’ll text you later”, like a promise. If whatever gods of pop and/or rock and roll permit, perhaps they could see each other later that night. For now, Levi is dragged away by his manager, _they want pictures of you and Petra..._

The flash of the cameras is blinding, all he knows is Petra is by his side, arm hooked around his. Levi sees stars for the entire night after. 

His phone buzzes in his pocket on the way home- 

**Hans** **(8:13 p.m.):** Hey Levi! Can’t see you tonight, sorry... Gotta practice... Maybe next week? 

Levi returns home to an empty apartment. The thing they don’t tell you about being an idol. How terrifyingly lonely it is. At least there’s whisky in the cabinet. Levi pours himself a shot before going to bed. 

  
  


⇝

  
**[BREAKING] Levi Ackerman and Petra Ral seen at party together. More on Petra Ral.**

Who is Petra Ral? Orange hair, face of an Angel. She’s the rising pop Princess, and there’s little to challenge her reign. 

**Interviewer:** Today we sit down with Petra Ral! Pop Princess of our generation! You must be so busy these days! 

**Petra Ral:** aha yes! It’s unbelievable really! It’s been an incredible year and I can only thank my fans for it. 

**Interviewer:** I know you must get this question a lot... But... What’s your ideal type in a relationship?

 **Petra Ral:** well... Someone who’s cool, who’s quiet... Someone serious, but charming! I guess...

 **Interviewer:** Oh? That sounds like someone we all know-

⇝

  
“Levi...” Hanji breathes against his neck as he pushes her into his apartment, “a little eager aren’t we...”

Levi’s patience only lasted until the elevator doors shut. And when they do, he’s kissing her until their lungs give. It’s been too long. 

He growls, lips moving to her neck, he runs his tongue along her pulse, teeth grazing skin. 

“Don’t leave any marks... Got a shoot Monday...” she manages between gasps. She’s a writhing mess against his sheets. It’s been too long. 

Levi thinks fame comes with its pitfalls. He remembers him and Hanji at the start of their careers. A case of dressing room mix-ups and one very flustered Hanji Zoë later, and here they are. 

“You’ll be famous one day,” Hanji had said, “I have an eye for these things!” 

“What about you?” Levi replied. 

“Hmmm... I will be wedged comfortably between obscurity and niche interest...” Hanji smiles. 

And Levi smiles back and shakes his head. If anyone deserves to win the fame game, it’s Hanji. Hanji whose voice is husky and mellow, smooth like honey. Hanji who has real talent and a personality to match.

Those had been easier times. 

But as always Hanji had been right. The Scouts shot to fame in a manner considered unprecedented. Soon they were on every billboard in the country, their faces plastered on the sides of every bus. But Hanji had been modest about her own trajectory, and The Corps wedged themselves comfortably between niche interest and fame. 

Along the way they had abandoned mid-day movies and cafes, cooping up in the sheets instead. It’s easier this way. Less room for slip ups. Less room for rumours and speculation. 

Still it would be nice to- 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Hanji asks, face peeking from the duvet. 

“Was just thinking about what an idiot you were the first time we met...” 

Hanji pulls Levi’s hand to her face to bite his finger, “didn’t stop you from getting my number...” 

Levi laughs breathily as he intertwined his fingers with Hanji’s. He’s sure this crosses the lines of ‘best friends with benefits’, but between the growing awareness of this _thing_ between them and the inevitability of them moving said thing to the bedroom, it slips their mind to write the details up in a contract. No matter, years of being in this industry and they’re all tired of contracts. 

“Wanted to figure out what kind of trainwreck you were...” he shrugs. 

“So?” She says, eyes bright with anticipation, “what kind am I?”

“The best kind...” he says, quiet. As if any louder and he would break the barrier and either of them would have to address this moment between them. But they've lived on this precarity for so long that it's second nature. 

“If I hadn’t known any better I’d think you were flirting with me Levi Ackerman...” Hanji chuckles. But nothing changes. The moment lingers and Hanji strokes his thumb with hers. He doesn’t address her little jest. That’s just a little game they play- a little push here, more pulling there. 

“We’re both off schedules next week...” Levi starts, and he can feel her palm get clammy against his, “we should hang out.” 

“Where? Here?” She says, a little too breathless.

“I don’t know... But not here...” Levi says.

“Let’s go to the arcades then...” she says, already beaming.

“What are you? In high school?” Levi tsks.

But he quickly presses a kiss to her nose, not once letting go of her hand-

“Okay... Sounds like a good time...”

⇝

“What are you? Heading off to rob a bank?” Erwin raises a brow at Levi’s outfit. Black jeans, black hoodie, complete with a cap and a face mask. 

“Close... Arson...” he replies without batting an eye. 

“Enjoy your date with Hanji...” Erwin is very smug and it scares Levi. Sometimes he wonders where Erwin could be if he hadn't been blessed with the voice of an angel. Running the country perhaps. 

Hanji arrives ten minutes late. She’s in a long skirt and a jacket three sizes too big, the lower half of her face behind a mask, and her hair up in a ponytail. 

Levi snaps out from his staring when she tells him, “you know Levi, arcades are crawling with germs and bacteria and general gunk...” 

“Why would you tell me that?” Levi pulls a face that she knows is spectacular without having to see all of it, and she’s laughing, hooking their arms together and pulling him inside, “don’t know... So you’ll lose your mojo and I’ll beat you at every possible game?” 

Hanji does beat him at every possible game. Perhaps attributed to the fact that she had spent most of her youth loitering in arcades. 

Every possible game except Dance Dance Revolution. 

“It’s no fair...” Hanji pouts, “you’re the best dancer in the world, probably...”

And she’s always been like this- easy with her compliments. So much so that they had a fight about it once in their earlier interactions because Levi had thought she was being sarcastic. But now hearing her say he's beautiful gives him butterflies. And here she is, adjusting her skirt, her hair in disarray, a thin sheen of sweat building on her forehead, just...

A goddess. 

Levi swallows. He thinks about letting her win the next round, but figures it would be a little out of character, so he finds a little redemption in the claw machines on the way out. A little pull. Hanji had been staring at them since they got here. 

“It’s impossible Levi, you know that! I read somewhere that the probability of you winning is-“ 

Levi shoots her a shit eating look as the machine plays its little jingle. 

“Huh?” Hanji says, eloquent as Levi retrieves the toy from the machine. This is impossible. She- she had read somewhere that- “oh?” She tries again. 

“It’s for you, idiot...” Levi murmurs, he doesn’t know why his face is heating up so much. It’s just a stupid toy from a stupid claw machine that Hanji has no reason knowing so much about. But she does. And he’s here, blushing and watching her eyes light up with wonder. 

Hanji looks at the lizard plushie that Levi has placed in her hands, “oh!” 

“Don’t lose it...” he says. 

There’s a two-second delay before she’s running up beside him, “I’ll keep him safe,” she beams, pulling down her mask to kiss Levi’s cheek. “He lives here now,” Hanji says, tucking the lizard between the buttons of her jacket, and she’s off, bouncing around the different food carts in the square. 

Levi buys them both hotdogs and watches as she douses it with an unholy amount of ketchup. 

Later, his hand find hers when they’re walking along the river, talking about everything and nothing at all. 

⇝

Hanji works hard. She writes her own songs, she dances until her legs give, she sings until her throat is hoarse. Hanji Zoë works really hard. 

She’s happy to say most days it pays off. She has the nicest fans in the world. She’s tired, but she’s good at what she does. Most days she gets the hang of it. Most days she loves what she does. She can’t imagine another life and this terrifies her. 

She’s pressed up against Nanaba on the couch while Nifa is at dance practice, watching reruns of the day’s news. 

_In entertainment news, Levi Ackerman and Petra Ral seem to be taking their relationship a step further..._

Hanji doesn't even hear the next part and there are already tears prickling her eyes. She’s just tired and hungry that’s all there is to it. Nothing more. She’s just tired and her muscles are aching and she needs to sleep. 

“Oh Hanji...” Nanaba says, “oh baby...”

No point concealing her sniffling now. She wants Nanaba to stop because now her lips are quivering and her throat feels like it’s on fire. 

“I’m okay... I’m just tired...” Hanji says, voice wobbling.

“I’m here if you wanna talk?”

Hugging Nanaba is always nice. It feels like they are trainees again, clinging onto one another for dear life, finding home in places they least expect. She remembers Nifa and her first breakup and the ungodly amount of ice cream they consumed after. She remembers fixing leaks and plugging holes and learning to screw on a lightbulb. She remembers secretly ordering takeout to their dorm, inhaling it, then getting rid of the evidence before their manager arrived. She remembers the three of them huddled together in one room, waiting for something to happen. And after, she remembers the nights they spent talking about boys and girls, and the little pieces of paper with telephone numbers on them that are slipped into their pockets in music shows. Hanji barely remembers life before this and she can’t imagine another life.

In the morning, her phone vibrates against her pillow.

 **Levi (7:12 a.m.):** fuck four eyes... I’m done... They put me in a crop top...

There’s a photo of Levi standing in front of the mirror looking absolutely disgusted, shoulders drooping resignation. 

There are tears pooling in the corners of Hanji’s eyes from laughing and there’s a warmth that spreads throughout her being. She hugs her phone to her chest and she feels terribly young, and terribly small, and that terrifies her. She types a reply in her phone-  
  
_Told you that day was coming!_

  
⇝

  
Hanji gets a haircut in preparation for their comeback. It ends above her shoulders and it frames her face in a way that takes Levi’s breath away. 

“Nice hair...” he says, and he notes that she’s as drunk as he is. 

They’re at some party at a booked out club and Hanji is the only one in her group without conflicting schedules that night, so she’s here, glass of whatever in her hand, her dress hugging every curve. 

“Nice face...” she giggles. She had spent half the night clinking glasses and rubbing shoulders. Hanji has her share of friends amongst the other idols. Once they get past the judgement, it’s clear to see that she’s one of the good ones. And sometimes Levi wonders why she keeps him around. 

“Ha...” Levi smiles, he wants to say something smart, something that would make Hanji laugh, but ultimately- “I’m too drunk to do this...” 

“Me too... Wanna blow this joint?” Hanji says, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. 

They do end up blowing the joint, favouring the cramped confines of a bathroom stall instead. Hanji feels a little selfish because she knows they would be wanting Levi and Petra's picture. They hear a distant "where's Levi? Have you seen him?" as she pulls him away. But Hanji thinks if she isn't selfish every once in a while she might die. The bass can still be felt from here and it stirs up something delicious in the two of them. Soon, Levi is running his fingers through Hanji’s hair. Hanji notes he tastes like whisky and rosemary, and she wonders where the rosemary came from. 

They break apart after what feels like eternity and Hanji chuckles at the lipstick on his face. 

“Sorry...” she whispers against his cheek, but Levi’s eyes are glazed over, and he’s looking at her with a look that she thinks about before going to bed every night. 

They leave the bathrooms only because Hanji can no longer lie to herself that the bowl of spinach from breakfast can sustain her. “Fuck it... Let’s get the greasiest thing this goddamn city has to offer!” She says, and Levi promises to take her to the place Reiner goes to on his self-proclaimed cheat days. It’s en route back to her dormitory anyway. 

“You look really nice tonight...” he says in the subway when they manage to find an empty carriage.

“Ah... I wasn’t sure about the hair... The stylist did it and my CEO looked like he was about to have a heart attack...” 

“Well... I like it... Suits you...” Levi says, and he blames his honesty on the alcohol, although truthfully, the walk to the station has more than sobered him up. Hanji averts her gaze, but Levi can tell she’s smiling. 

And Levi wishes Hanji wasn’t so hard on herself. She knows what they say about her nose, her lankiness, the way she talks a little too loudly, the way her hair sometimes prove difficult to manage. So she tames her voice, takes her hair, tries to tell herself maybe more exercise would give her a smaller waist. But the world will always find new things to hate. 

“It’s okay... I anticipated this...” Hanji had said. The industry and its fans are not particularly kind or forgiving. Better to count your own flaws before someone else points them out. “I will struggle, but it will be okay...” she had said. And Levi doesn’t understand because he likes her hair, and he likes her nose, and he likes her body, and the way she rambles on and on (even though he would never admit this). 

"You deserve all the love in the world, Levi...” Hanji says when she leans her head against his shoulder in the empty carriage. And Levi goes over her words again when he’s alone, like there’s some hidden message in her melancholy, like there’s something she wants to tell him. Maybe he’s just projecting. 

So he tells her it’s a burdensome sort of love, and Hanji laughs. She gets to her feet and Levi anticipates the next stupid thing that she'll do. 

"Oh Levi..." her voice an imitation of an exaggerated high-society accent, "Your pose was so austere in that editorial..." Hanji closes her eyes, back of her hand resting on her forehead, "Oh Levi, you're a shining star, a prodigy of dance, indeed the nation’s treasure... I'm going to name my first-born in your honour...” Hanji’s face is so close to Levi’s now, eyes full of mischief, lips pulling into a smile as she watches him swallow nervously. For her closing act, Hanji runs her fingers down the side of Levi’s face, teasing, "oh Levi! You're the sun- a star... The brightest of them all..." she chokes, theatrical, and acts out a pseudo-death, folding herself on Levi’s lap as she collapses against him. The train rumbles to another stop. The next stop will be theirs. 

Levi scoffs, but his face is already breaking a smile. And soon there’s a laughter that bubbles from his ribs. Hanji’s head is on Levi’s lap and she looks up at his beautiful face. Levi considers pushing Hanji off his lap and onto the ground, but he decides against it. She’s warm against him. Besides, it wouldn’t be nice to ruin her pretty dress. So he rests his arm on her, stroking absentmindedly at her waist. 

Hanji smiles, that same triumphant smile whenever she succeeds in making Levi laugh so hard that his sides hurt. And Levi thinks it's nice to have someone to leave with. When the party is at its peak and the guests are just getting high on a little champagne and cognac, and everyone is shaking hands and laughing and talking. Thinks it's nice to have someone to lead to a chippy that Reiner highly recommends. To order something to go- with a side of fries to share. Thinks it’s nice Hanji knows exactly where to take their food- a bench somewhere quiet, somewhere no one will see. Thinks it's nice he gets to walk the girl of his dreams back to her place. 

They hook arms, huddled close, like two teenagers returning from prom. “Sometimes I just... Don't think I fit in..." she says later, fifteen streetlamps away from her apartment block.

Levi catches the words as they leave her mouth as absentminded humming. He watches as all the tension and nervousness from the party leave her system, and wonders if he fits in. 

⇝

Live interviews have never been Hanji’s thing. It’s just way less forgiving. She remembers her first live shoot, how nervous she had been. She barely got a word out, and when she did, it had been accompanied by nervous laughter. One wrong move and everyone is going to see, everyone will lynch her. 

She had made the mistake of reading Internet comments after. 

“That’s fucking unfair... I don’t say shit at interviews either...” Levi had said. But he doesn’t understand. They’re made from different stars, Hanji thinks. She’s a brown dwarf, with a luminosity a little short of the stellar range. And Levi’s the sun. 

But she receives her first fan gift that very week, then another, and another- 

And she realises some people don’t mind the stars that don’t shine. 

“Hanji... I fucking hate eggs...” Nanaba says to her when they’re in the car, fingers deftly peeling a hard boiled egg. 

Hanji throws her head back to laugh. She knows. She hates them too. Cursed little spheres with their chalky centres. To think she used to find them appealing. Schedules on an empty stomach is the worst. But Hanji can’t complain. Came with the job.

“I’ve stopped trying to get creative with the sweet potatoes...” Hanji groans.

“Oh! Have you tried a dollop of mustard with your sweet potatoes?” Nifa says from the front seat. 

“I saw you do that during dinner and frankly Nifa...” both Nanaba and Hanji make gagging noises and Nifa huffs in feign annoyance. Their manager clicks his tongue as laughter tears through the confined space, “hey! Inside voices!” he tries. 

They’re in the dressing room and Hanji is waiting to get her makeup touched up when she fiddles with the items in her bag. Her fingers wrap around a bit of wrapping and she finds an chocolate bar with a note attached to it in Levi’s writing- 

_Eat. If you pass out on live TV I swear I'll circulate that shit on the Internet._

A smile tugs at the corners of her lips, and there’s a new hunger that takes over in the form of a familiar churning in her gut. The one that tells her she’s done for. She tucks the chocolate back in her bag, saves it for later when she’s back at the dorm, alone in her room. 

“What about you Hanji! I don’t think you’ve been asked! What would your ideal type be! Any ideas?” The interviewer says, and suddenly all eyes are on her. 

“Ah I love this question... So original...” she jests and the interviewer laughs. "Hanji is charming", the subtitles say.

There's a moment of deliberation, like she's conjuring up an image of the most beautiful boy she knows- he beats her at Dance Dance Revolution, he sent her her first fan letter, he sneaks chocolate into her bag when she isn't looking. 

_Hmm... Someone who makes me laugh... Who loves me for me..._

⇝

"In a few years everything is going to change..." Hanji says, like a prophet. They've just debuted and in a year or two, everything is going to change. But for now, they've just watched a movie in the middle of a weekday when it's quiet and they're just finishing up their lattes in a cafe nearby that smells like old books, and no prophet in the world could've predicted this- this... _Thing_. 

"We could still meet in secret... You could... I don't know... Steal your manager's car to sneak into my room in the middle of the night..." Levi snorts, recalling the time Hanji had showed up at his dormitory announcing in a hushed whisper that she had stolen the keys from her manager’s pocket during dinner and he hadn't noticed. Levi had to sneak her past Erwin, Mike and Reiner. 

She throws her head back to laugh. In a few years she will wonder if anyone has made her laugh quite as much as Levi does.

But for now they are standing outside the cafe, watching as snow falls from the skies. She turns to him only to realise that he's looking at her. She chuckles breathlessly.

“What?” He barks, but it comes out less harsh than he had intended. 

“Fanfiction would call this unresolved tension...” she answers.

“You read that shit?”

“I’ve read a really good one of you and Erwin!”

“Fuck Hanji...”

“I _would not_ recommend you read it though... I could not look at Nanaba in the eyes for a month after I read fanfiction about us...” she blabbers and it's years later before she realises she could attribute it to the nerves. "Levi, have you ever-" 

She's running her mouth again. Levi knows it's the nerves. He's nervous too. His heart races as he closes the distance between them to kiss her, there's something in him that melts, like the clearing of fresh snowfall. At that moment he thinks Hanji is the sun. And he knows this is it, this moment is stellar. 

"Now this... This is what fanfiction is made of..." she says. It's years later and she still doesn't know if she said that out loud. 

Levi wishes things never have to change. Then again the world is at their feet, and he's sure they'll be alright.

⇝

**[BREAKING] Levi Ackerman and Petra Ral seem to be taking their relationship a step further. The couple was spotted linking arms and heading to a cafe after the movies-**

**Levi (11:28 p.m.):** Hey...

Hanji doesn't reply. She doesn't know what to say. And that terrifies her. 

  
⇝

  
“Welcome back to the studio where we’re joined today by The Scouts, a group that debuted just two years ago and is now taking the world by storm!" 

The interviewer turns his attention to Levi. 

“There has been huge interest surrounding Levi who’s always so mysterious! Can you tell us Levi, because your fans want to know, how would your ideal date go?” 

There's hesitation, an uncomfortable silence, and a growing awareness in Levi that it's an obligation as per his contract to be at least palatable to his audience. 

He thinks of a girl he knows- glasses, adorable nose, says the most stupid things, and he thinks of the smell of old books and coffee, maybe a movie, sometimes two if they manage to sneak into another theater unnoticed.

⇝

**Levi (9:28 p.m.):** Hanji. I'm parked outside your dorm. For fuck's sakes, please... We need to talk. 

Hanji sighs, she contemplates putting on something nicer. She looks down at her sweatpants and her Pulp Fiction t-shirt. She decides against it and grabs her jacket from the door. 

"Hanji... If you need us just call okay?" Nifa says, and already she's rolling her sleeves up. 

Hanji smiles. She only remembers her uncombed hair when she's in the elevator.

She sighs before getting in his car. She looks at him, his hair a little messier than usual, his glower a little more intense, but he still looks stellar. An apology slips past her lips before she can help it. 

"Wha- Why are you apologising?" it comes out as a sigh, "I wanted to talk to you..." 

There's something in Hanji that runs on overdrive, like a hamster on a wheel, and soon she's off again- "ahaha! It's alright Levi! I understand! We said no strings remember? Plus she's so beautiful and you're so beautiful and I'm sure she's really nice and-"

"Hanji!" Levi shakes her gently by her shoulders, "what the actual fuck are you on about?" his tone softens because there are tears streaming down Hanji's face, and he just stares at her like she grew another head. 

“I thought... I thought you and Petra... Isn’t that what you wanted to tell me?” 

"You idiot..." Levi groans, "you've been ignoring my texts because that's what you thought?" 

Hanji holds her breath.

"I told my label that I'm not going to play this game anymore... I'm tired of pretending, Hanji... I never wanted to-" another groan, "anyway, it's over... So we're just going to let it fade into oblivion..."

"Huh?" She says eloquently, "but- But what about Petra? What about the label!" 

"They cancelled some of my schedules, made some threats... But besides that, they realised there was nothing they could do to me..." he smirks. 

"Ah..." she says, "and is it... I mean... Was it worth it?" She notices that Levi's face is a lush shade of pink.

"You're worth it..." he murmurs.

“Ahaha!" Hanji laughs nervously, "if- If I hadn’t known any better I’d think you were flirting with me...” 

“I _am_ flirting with you dumbass...” Levi scowls, “I’ve been flirting with you since the first time I saw you...” 

“Oh...” 

Levi shoots her another exasperated look. 

“I just... I’m glad... But we can’t just-" words seem to be failing her today. But she had been expecting a fallout, and this is by no means a fallout. 

“Whatever. Everyone's dating everyone. Petra is seeing someone in secret, Jean’s already dating Mikasa... This industry’s a whole fuckfest...”

“Jean’s dating Mikasa?” Hanji quirks a brow. Their groups had just debuted a few months ago. They are cute together though, Hanji has stumbled across the fanart. 

“Erwin seems to think so... He scours the fan boards religiously...” 

“Ah... Then it must be true...” Hanji chuckles. 

"What do you think?" Levi asks, quiet. He doesn't want to be selfish. But Hanji is smiling, a confident, impish smile, like the world is her oyster. Hanji thinks this is not so much selfishness as it is indulgence. And maybe it's okay to be indulgent every once in a while. 

"I can't meet you for a while... My comeback is in a week, and after that I'll be on tour..." 

"I know..." Levi says, but they've been at this so long they've developed some kind of rhythm. They'll be alright. He'll watch her, they'll text, they'll call one another at odd hours, Hanji will bring him back odd knick knacks like he did. They'll be alright. So he kisses her as a form of assurance. Everything will be alright. 

"What an absolute trainwreck..." he murmurs as they pull apart. But he's looking at her with all the affection in the world, so really, who's the trainwreck here. 

"And what kind of trainwreck would that be?" she asks, breathless. They will see each other again when their schedules permit. But for now, this is their little thing- a cumulation of pining and tenderness. They'll be alright. 

"The best kind..."

  
⇝

  
They don't actually meet for the next few months. They're both so busy with schedules that being on camera is second nature to breathing. The first month is the hardest month of Levi's entire career, with the press swamping him for details of his high profile 'break up'. Except it hadn't been a breakup. There was no relationship to speak of to begin with. There's not much he can offer besides a grimace.

But it does let up eventually. The world can't stay mad at Levi Ackerman for long. Plus the press had caught a whiff of Petra's new relationship. There will always be other scandals to brew. Levi feels liberated somehow- _so you survived your first dating scandal?_ \- a badge of honour somewhat for an industry veteran. 

The next time they meet again, it's New Year's eve and Hanji's hair is the most beautiful shade of midnight purple and Levi is dressed in satin. She waves shyly at him, _hey_ , like he has just come back from the war and she wants to know if he still remembers her. As if they hadn't been texting every other day. _Hey,_ he mouths, a ghost of a smile on his lips, _I thought about you everyday_ , he wants to say, but they're separated by the others who have gathered on stage. 

By a stroke of sheer luck (or clever orchestration by Mike, Erwin, Reiner, Nanaba and Nifa), they are pushed together for the countdown. 

"Hey..." Levi says, and his eyes linger on her eyes and how they shine like stars. 

"Hey..." she replies, grinning like she has just won the grand prize at a music show and the world is at her feet. There's more shuffling, and they're so close Levi wants to kiss her face. 

It's been too long. 

But the cameras are on them and his heart is beating out of his chest, like something is going to happen with him in the middle of it. 

They start the countdown.

Levi forgets how to count because Hanji is smiling at him. _What comes after eight? Or is it before?_

Ah, it's five now, and Hanji is doing an excited little dance, he knows what she's thinking- soon there will be fireworks and confetti.

Three, and he smiles back at her. 

Two, and he thinks she's absolutely stellar. 

One.

He brushes the back of his hand against hers, intertwining their fingers when he feels her wrap her pinky around his. Time stops and then- 

Fireworks. 

Hanji's cheeks are dusted pink and Levi is sure he's turning red. She smiles at him, bashful, and suddenly the world smells like old books and coffee- 

“Happy New Year, Levi...” 

⇝

Reiner throws his arms around Erwin and Mike as the confetti rains down on stage. “Now _that_ ,” he gestured over to Levi and Hanji, “that is what fanfiction is made of...”

Erwin chuckles- 

“Fina-fucking-ly...” 

⇝

**[BREAKING] Levi Ackerman from The Scouts dating Hanji Zoë of The Corps?**

⇝

[+305] What the actual fuck...

[+81] wait... does this mean anything? They’re just friends aren’t they?

[+187] Looks like their companies didn’t expect this to happen! Oh well~ Wishing them a happy relationship! 

[+83] Levi with Hanji? The world is coming to an end... 

[+78] burning the poster I have of Levi in my room...

[+297] Ha! Called it! Levi has never been subtle around our Hanji!! Called it! Best news to wake up to~ we’re really starting the new year off with a bang! 

[+100] idgi... we were taken along for a ride... he’s better off with Petra... now they’re telling us all that wasn’t real?

[+459] is it just me or do they look really cute together? I don’t get the hate? Levi is always so happy around her!!

[+412] Wishing them all the best! They deserve one another! Take care of our Hanji, Levi!

[+311] Aaaah! They’re so cute together! They deserve one another~

[+898] Fina-fucking-ly.

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no AU! I think I should've vetted this more than I have, but it's going to be kind of a busy week, and if this stays in my drafts it's going to be a distraction because I have the attention span of a child. I got a bit lazy at some bits, but let's just call it a deliberate style. BUT I had a lot of fun! 💖 Thanks once again anon, I hope you're reading this 💖
> 
> (and yes The Scouts and The Corps are the best names I can come up with...)


End file.
